Dear India, Don’t Curb Any Sort of Creativity

Dear India,

Do you sometimes forget that you are 70-years-old when you resort to childish and immature activities ?

What else do I call the Padmavati or Padmaavat controversy if not immature ?

India, the country of a million people with a thousand real problems, is today fighting over a fictional movie based on a fictional character of the 18th century?

You are actually utilising your resources and time in trying to solve what can be termed as a non-existent problem ?

Vandalising school buses and public property doesn’t harm the respect of a community, but an actor portraying a fictional character dancing in a fictional movie does.

In a country with a ratio of 15 judges to 10 lakh people, is this what you should be using your resources on?

You seriously need to rethink your priorities.

Dear India, we have stooped so low that newspapers now need to carry a half page explanation and disclaimer to promote a fictional piece of work. And what’s funny is that you call yourself a progressive nation?

What happened ages ago, no one knows, since there is no concrete proof of Rani Padmani being anything else other than a fictional character from Malik Muhammad Jayasi's poems. When the lines are so blurred, can't you allow an artist to create a beautiful story out of it?

Yes, traditions and legacies should be honoured, protected and voices of concerns must be raised if one feels any threat to them, but it needs to follow a legal and logical path.

Threatening harm and vandalisation is nothing but a criminal act, especially if the movie that has been approved and passed by the Supreme Court and the censor board.

What would happen when one of the online streaming services uploads the film? Then what would these fringe elements do?

Recently Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We believe in India, we believe in Bollywood,” while applauding and inviting Bollywood to his country. It’s time India believes in Bollywood too, instead of hurting and damaging the wonderful industry the world knows us for.

Love,
Sumedha Mahajan